This invention relates generally to monitoring the operation of machinery and, more particularly, to a method and system for monitoring a condition of a machine component.
Component failures including, without limitation, valve failures, are common in machinery, such as reciprocating compressors. For this reason, the ability to monitor component conditions is useful to personnel who operate and/or manage the machinery. This ability is particularly useful in machinery applications with fixed clearance volumes and no valve unloaders, where dynamic pressure measurements cannot be provided due to pressure transducer limitations, for example.
Conventionally, acceleration signals have been used in combination with cylinder PV patterns in monitoring a condition of a compressor component, such as a condition of a compressor valve. When no dynamic pressure is available, monitoring of compressor events and/or component condition becomes more challenging.